A New Newspaper Box

Madison Avenue was starting to resemble “the Wild West,” says City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz. “Newspaper boxes were everywhere!” So she and the Madison Avenue B.I.D. turned to designer Karim Rashid. “I wanted something that looked like a growth from the ground,” he says. He reduced the height from the usual 40–45 inches to 30 and tilted the box. Rashid also wanted sheet metal, but reinforced fiberglass was cheaper. “There is barely a graffitiproof material in existence,” he says. “But I’m a believer that if you add beauty
to the landscape, there’s much less vandalism.” Positioned right outside the Issey Miyake store, the box will be up through the winter, to test for durability. Eventually, about 75 more will go on Madison Avenue. The B.I.D. makes no money from the sale of papers, but is in talks with publications whose boxes line the avenue to consolidate their papers (the box holds four). The final cost to clean up the street: $475,000.